Mazda B4000 4x4 V6 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mountain goats provide full service car wash at national park

A group of plucky mountain goats in a Canadian national park apparently found the hardscrabble life of a common animal too tedious and tried their hands, rather tongues, at car detailing. YouTube user Darkrider1287 uploaded this video of the goats in action last week. His companion were driving along Maligne Valley Road in Alberta's Jasper National Park when a handful of young mountain goats descended on their Mazda. As the bewildered couple stopped their car, the goats surrounded them and proceeded to lick the vehicle clean. Knowing a good video opportunity when he saw one, Darkrider pulled out his phone to film the endearing and hilarious scene. For thirty minutes, the mountain goats licked the car clean from stem to stern. Paying little to no mind to the humans within, the goats cleared the Mazda of its accumulation of dust, bugs, pollen, and other tasty road grime. "So thorough!" said Darkrider as he narrated his video. "That's some tasty dust!" As the goats cleaned the car, other tourists stopped to laugh and take pictures of the strange scene. Eventually, a handful of cars and as many as ten goats had the Mazda surrounded. "Within a few minutes, we were crowded by both sheep and also tourists taking pictures of our funny plight," Darkrider stated in a comment on the video. "We stayed for about 30 minutes before moving on due to a rainstorm." So what exactly is going on here? A similar event happened to a National Geographic reporter in the same park in 2012. A park ranger told the report that the mountain goats were addicted to the salt used in Alberta to keep the roads from freezing. Even in August, salt can still make its way on to a car in the form of road dust. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: The Daily Mail, YouTube, National Geographic Auto News Humor Weird Car News Mazda Driving goat

2020 Mazda3 gets five-star overall rating from NHTSA

Mazda is adding another figurative piece of silverware for its heralded Mazda3, this time in the form of a five-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The designation applies to both the hatchback and four-door sedan, and front- or all-wheel-drive versions. Mazda’s entry-level compact, which underwent a dramatic redesign for 2019, notched five-star ratings across the board: frontal crash, side crash and rollover crash tests. The Mazda3 has also been named Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with top scores on all crash tests and ease of use of the LATCH child-seat system, but an acceptable rating for its headlights as the only slight ding. Mazda opted to make its i-Activsense safety technology system standard on the 3 for 2020. It covers NHTSAÂ’s recommendations of having forward collision warning, lane departure warning, crash imminent braking and dynamic brake support, and it adds features like blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, automatic on-off LED headlights and rain-sensing windshield wipers. The fourth-generation car also got a stiffer body with a 10-fold increase in high-strength steel and a revamped suspension. Mazda sold 50,741 examples of the Mazda3 last year, which made it the automakerÂ’s No. 2 nameplate, though well behind the CX-5, which moved 154,545 units. Sales in January were off 45.7% from the prior year, when the new version wasnÂ’t yet on sale, suggesting that despite its distinctive looks and accolades from the motoring press, the Mazda3 is fighting an uphill battle against crossover-dom. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Mazda Furai concept designer talks about his car's passing

Last week, there was mourning at the Autoblog offices as word trickled in that the Mazda Furai concept - one of the coolest, best-looking showcars to grace an auto show stage since the wild and crazy 1960s -had been killed. It was killed on the track with the folks from Top Gear in attendance. We're sure the gods of driving would have wanted it to die on a circuit, but that doesn't make its fiery passing any easier to deal with.
The Furai is the rare concept car that had a lasting appeal with enthusiasts, partly because it was a real, functioning racecar, complete with a wacky three-rotor Wankel engine and cutting-edge Nagare design. Now that it's gone, though, Road & Track's Mallory McMorrow, who was an intern at Mazda Design when the Furai was being styled in 2007, has published an interview with one of the men who penned the Mazda showcar's striking exterior, Carlos Salaff. It's a great piece on the emotional connection between a designer and his creation, and one you should take the time to read. Click on over to R&T for the full story.